Kiosk
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. – Hellen Keller
Please check the kiosk for volunteer opportunities at church – sign-up if you are called to serve our Lord, Jesus Christ. Read about church and community happenings on the kiosk.
Do you know of a community event that others may like to know about as well? Please get the information to the office so items can get on the kiosk for our church community to see.
From the Office
You may call, e-mail, or put a form under the office door (located on the kiosk or in the mailbox outside the office door) to communicate with the Director of Communications. We ask that items be in the office by 9:00 am on Mondays to ensure announcements and/or articles make it into the e-weekly on Wednesdays and items be in the office by 9:00 am on Thursdays to ensure announcements and/or articles make it into the Sunday bulletins. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
From the Pastor – October Newsletter Article written by Pastor Richard Pokora
Let me call this article “A Practical Guide to Christian Discipleship.”
No one hands new members a manual with the do’s and don’ts of being a member, or disciple of Jesus, in a modern church setting. Certainly, we receive a Bible to provide us guidance, but that document is much to decipher, digest and apply.
Thru this newsletter, I want to offer several suggestions for navigating church membership/discipleship issues on a practical day by day basis.
The first truth to learn about membership is that it is rooted in our Lord’s command to love others, as He loves us. Love is a positive and not a negative response to conflict. If someone says or does something we dislike, respond in a positive way. Offer constructive suggestions, rather than negative criticism. The Apostle Paul says love builds up. Build up the other and work together to achieve the goals Christ sets for us, as His disciples.
Churches and their members may say or do things that aggravate or offend others. How do we respond in those situations? The Apostle Paul reminds us “we are to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit…” We have a responsibility to maintain the unity of the congregation, despite disagreements.
Anger bubbles right to the surface when we are upset by what we do not like. Step back and cool down before responding to others. Think about what your response will be. Respond in a manner that does not anger the other person but encourages them to join in thinking through a better way to express feelings or accomplish the task at hand.
Inevitably, mistakes will be made. Others make mistakes and so do we. Martin Luther once said, “Simul justus et peccator.” We are both sinner and justified at the same time. Despite our best intentions, our words and deeds do not always accomplish the goals we set. Let the past failures go and focus on creating a better future. Forgiveness expresses love and maintains church unity.
Church membership is an expression of discipleship. Everything Jesus says about discipleship applies to membership. Membership implies commitment. Christ commits to us, and we commit to him. Commitment is an expression of our love for others within the congregational setting. That congregation is the incarnation of the body of Christ. Commitment is the corner stone of church unity. No commitment, no unity. No unity, no body of Christ.
I once knew a couple who joined one church after the other, but sooner or later left the congregation in a huff. They didn’t just forsake a church, but their discipleship as well. Christ expects us to bond with our congregation, as an expression of our love for others and discipleship.
Remember this. The local congregation is the visible body of Christ. Membership is an expression of discipleship. We are called to love and forgive one another to maintain the unity of the congregation. Most importantly, we recall that church membership and discipleship coexist in the congregation through us. They can’t be separated for our convenience or in anger.
Message from October 16th by Pastor Pokora
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and His Son our Lord Jesus Christ.
Another parish I know of hosts a mid-week healing service. There was an elderly woman who came every week. Someone always accompanied her. This other person helped the woman find a place to sit and then assisted her to the altar rail for anointing and healing prayers. Every week she knelt down and would say, “For my eyes and for my mind.” She was nearly blind and suffered dementia. Week after week it was the same prayer, “For my eyes and for my mind.” Week after week the pastor prayed and anointed her with oil. Every week her friend helped her back to the pew. She was as blind and confused as when she came.
Everyday immigrants, both legal and illegal, come to this country seeking a new life, a better life. Often, they are greeted by words or actions that say, “You don’t belong here. I don’t want to see or hear from you.” Recently, a fellow by the name of Tyler Clementi jumped off a bridge and killed himself after he had been outed on the internet as being a gay man. He was eighteen years old. Throughout the world the poor struggle to survive another day of inadequate food, clothing, shelter, water, medicine, or work. I know a fellow who everyday fights his need to drink. I know of a woman who lives in fear of her husband’s anger and violence. There is a group of parents that meet monthly in San Antonio to talk about and share the overwhelming grief they suffer following the death of a child.
These are just a few of the widows in Jesus’ parable. The list could go on and on. They pray for and request a new life. They hope things will change. They seek something different for their life, something other than what they have right now. Day after day it is the same, nothing changes. It is not right. They know it, we know it, and God knows it. They live and some have died standing before the unjust judge.
The unjust judge wears many disguises: prejudice, hatred, fear, the disease that won’t be healed, economic systems, death, grief, addiction. Regardless of the disguise the unjust judge neither fears God nor respects people.
Standing before the unjust judge life seems big, powerful, and overwhelming. You feel small, powerless, and alone. There is no one to defend or represent you. You stand by yourself unsure what to believe about life or yourself. No matter what you do or say nothing changes, nothing works. You don’t know what else to do so, like the widow in Jesus’ parable, day after day you cry out. That is the widow’s story in today’s parable, in today’s world, sometimes even in our own life. Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever stood before the unjust judge?
So, what do we do when we stand before the unjust judge? What do we do when we see another human being standing before the unjust judge? Some will get angry and fight back becoming as hardened and unjust as the judge himself. Some will give up and believe what the unjust judge says, believing that is the final reality of life and it will never get better. Others will blame and accuse God of being the unjust judge. There are a few, however, who will discover and trust the widow’s faith.
“Pray always and do not lose heart,” Jesus says. That is the widow’s faith. Day after day she shows up. Day after day she speaks of the injustice done to her. Day after day she holds her pain before the judge, the world, and God.
To pray always does not mean giving God a to do list and then sitting back expecting God to magically fix everything. To pray always means that we offer our cry to God and then we do whatever we can to bring about the change we seek trusting that God also is already doing what God needs to do. Maybe that means we seek counseling or a support group. We feed the hungry. We offer compassion to the grieving. We speak and teach against hatred and prejudice, respecting the dignity of every human being. We strive for justice and peace. We make our case not just before God but with God. We join God in answering our prayer.
Some believe that prayer is about convincing, cajoling, persuading, or wearing down God so God will do what we ask. It is the idea that God is out there somewhere and not here, that God is either unaware or uncaring about us and this world. So, we have to persuade God to show up and act. That only happens if we are good enough, believe the right things, and say the right words enough times. That is not what it means to pray always. If that is what we have been taught or come to believe this parable says otherwise. Jesus rejects that understanding of the relationship between God and his people. God is nothing like the unjust judge. God sees our suffering. God hears our cries. God quickly grants justice. But when?
The widow’s faith always involves waiting. How long? When will it change? I don’t know. But I do know that waiting does not mean God is absent. Waiting does not mean God is uncaring. Waiting does not mean God is not already active. You see, the widow does not wait on God. She waits with God. To pray always is what keeps her from losing heart. It keeps her showing up day after day trusting that God sees, hears, and acts.
To pray always is what keeps us, in thought, word, and deed, present to and in relationship with God so that when God does act, we will be there. Imagine the tragedy if one day the widow gave up. She just could not stand another day of crying out, pointing to the injustice of her life, holding her pain for the world to see, so she didn’t and that was the day the judge ruled, that was the day life changed. I wonder how much of God’s life, love, compassion, forgiveness, healing we have missed because we did not show up. To pray always is what insures we are present so that when the Son of Man comes, he will find faith on earth. He will find us, the widows of the world who refused to let the unjust judge have the final say.
To live the widow’s faith may be some of the most difficult and necessary work we do. Pray always and do not lose heart. Jesus does not ask us to do what we cannot do. He does not ask to go where he has not already been. He has lived the widow’s faith. He is the archetypal widow. The widow’s life and faith, his life and faith, have been given to us. It is already deep within each of us. You already have all that you need to face the unjust judge of this world. So go live like the widows God knows you to be. Amen.
May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.